Judge approves Casey Anthony's settlement with Texas EquuSearch

These photos are from Casey Anthony's Photobucket account. (Photobucket)

Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel

Casey Anthony's bankruptcy judge has approved her settlement with Texas EquuSearch, the search-and-recovery group that scoured Central Florida for her daughter in 2008.

Under the terms of the settlement, filed for U.S. Bankruptcy Judge K. Rodney May's approval in October, EquuSearch agreed to drop its complaint, which objected to Anthony's Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Anthony agreed to allow EquuSearch to claim $75,000 as a creditor. However, it appears unlikely EquuSearch will get much, if any, of that money.

The group may get a portion of whatever Anthony's bankruptcy trustee can find in her estate, but the rest of the $75,000 debt is now set to be wiped away when her bankruptcy concludes.

Anthony's January bankruptcy filing listed more than $792,000 in debt, and less than $1,100 in assets. The settlement, approved by May on Monday, does not require Anthony to admit liability.

The search group says it spent more than $100,000 searching for 2-year-old Caylee, who Anthony already knew was dead.

In a press release after the settlement, EquuSearch said the decision to settle came "after considerable thought."

"While many have debated whether Casey Anthony will ever financially profit from Caylee's death, one thing is certain; the time and money that [EquuSearch] must spend to pursue these claims are being taken from other families that really need their help," said EquuSearch lawyers Wites & Kapetan, P.A. and Meland Russin & Budwick, P.A.

EquuSearch was one of three Anthony creditors who filed federal complaints arguing their claims should survive her bankruptcy. The two other creditors, Zenaida Gonzalez and Roy Kronk, have complaints still pending against her.

Anthony was found not guilty of murder in her daughter's death at trial in 2011. She has been living in hiding ever since.